Candid Chat with Rajini Nair on Parenting

Rajini Nair, a mother from Mahim West, shares her experience with First Crayon (www.firstcrayon.com) of finding her child’s first school.

How did you decide at what age to send your child to their first school?

The preschool that I chose for my child was starting a batch when my child was 18 months of age. Since I thought she was mature enough to start preschool and I did not want her to wait for the next batch, I decided to enroll her.

What were your information sources during the preschool search process? Which source was the most valuable?

I looked into the preschools in my area. I also spoke to my friends to find out how they had gone about the process and what they would recommend. I found my friend’s advice quite useful during the search process.

What were your 3 most important factors while choosing a preschool? Why?

Faculty, cleanliness and proximity are the three factors that I focused on during my search. The experience of the teachers and the kind of teaching aids used are important to ensure that my child is learning to the fullest of their ability. My child should learn more at preschool than what I can provide at home. Cleanliness is important to protect the health of my child and safeguard her from infections since their immunity is much lower when they are young. I wanted her to be close to home so that she does not spend long hours in the car without anything to do.

What is the one thing that you feel you did really well during your preschool search, and other mothers should learn from you?

I reached out to friends to learn about their experiences. I was able to learn from their mistakes, and repeat the things that they did well. This saved me a lot of time and trouble.

What changes do you see in your child after going to preschool?

Since the preschool provided snacks to children, my child learnt to eat her food on her own. She now continues to do this at home as well. Using this as a starting point, she has started to show independence in lots of other small ways. Her English language skills and vocabulary have also improved markedly.

What is your most important tip for parents to prepare their child and themselves for the first day of preschool?

I was worried when my child cried on the first few days of preschool. I was questioning my decision to send her at such a young age. However, I did not waver and let her continue. After a few days, she herself started to look forward to the preschool. My advice to parents would be to give it a few days before they decide that it was a good or bad idea to start preschool at a chosen age. Different children take different amounts of time to settle in.